


I've Purposefully Acquired Two Nagas

by Spectascopes



Series: Whoopsie-Daisy, Nagas Acquired [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, BittyBones, Disabled Character, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Forced Pregnancy, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lots of Abuse, Naga, Nothing explicit, Other, Pregnancy, Recovery, Rehabilitation, Sexual Abuse, falling down - Freeform, only mentioned/referenced
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:40:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22162711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectascopes/pseuds/Spectascopes
Summary: Autumn Sumners wasn't quite sure what she was getting into when she signed up for a bitty rehabilitation program, but she knew she wanted to make a difference.She is charged with being the caretaker of two severely abused naga bitties rescued from an illegal bitty breeding program.
Series: Whoopsie-Daisy, Nagas Acquired [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595272
Comments: 94
Kudos: 346





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little spin-off side story to "Oops, I Have a Naga" which can be found [Here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16249712/chapters/37991594)
> 
> While there will NOT be any explicit noncon/underage content, please be aware that it might be discussed, so if you really can't stand that sort of thing please don't read! This is just a side-story to "Oops, I Have a Naga" and not necessary to understand that story's plot at all.

Autumn had never owned a naga before, let alone an abused one… and let alone  _ two  _ abused ones!

But she’d gotten the call from the rehabilitation program, and she’d agreed to help them. Red and Blue were their names. Somebody had called in a case of naga abuse and the guy had been busted, and they’d uncovered half a dozen of the bitties in his house. 

She’d been briefed on the situation. Red was disabled, missing his fangs and an arm, while Blue was mostly healthy but pregnant. They’d been part of an illegal bitty breeding ring. Autumn’s heart ached for the little things. 

She got everything ready for their arrival: a bed in the living room for them, snuggled in an upturned cardboard box to give them some privacy but not keep them prisoner, some small cubed meats for them to eat, and little utensils. She couldn’t really do much more before they arrived- she would buy them some clothes when they got here and she knew how big they were.

Under the pity and heartache, she was genuinely excited. Autumn sat in her living room abuzz with it, waiting for the knock on her door. Bitties were great company, she’d heard, and she could use some of that! She’d been alone since her last cat had died just a couple months prior, so the prospect of other living things staying with her was welcome. It was the reason she’d signed up for the program anyways!

The knock startled her. She shot up from her seat and pulled the door open to find an older woman there, holding a large cat-carrier in one arm.

“Autumn Sumners?”

“Yes! That’s me! Are these the nagas?”

“They are- may I come in?”

“Of course!”

She lead the lady into the living room, motioning for her to set the carrier down on the coffee table. She did so before sighing and taking a seat.

Autumn immediately looked inside. Two shaking masses were curled up in the far corner from the door, one maroon and the other a pretty cyan blue. As she peeked in, the cyan naga- Blue, she assumed- turned to face her, eyelights small and scared. She waved, but he immediately ducked his head back.

“Aw…” Autumn breathed.

“They pretty much came straight here from the place of rescue- other than a night at the vets to make sure they were healthy,” the woman informed. “I’m Alice, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Alice.”

“Likewise, though I wish the circumstances weren’t so intense. You were briefed over the phone, correct?”

“Yes. I’ll do everything I can to make them feel comfortable and welcomed here.”

“Don’t get deterred if they take a while to warm up to you- they were really manhandled in their last home… hell, I wouldn’t even call it a home. Their last prison.”

“They can take as long as they need- I get it,” Autumn said, looking into the carrier again. “Would you like a drink or anything, Alice?”

“No thank you, I should be on my way. There isn’t much else for me to do here, and I’ve got one of the other rescues in the truck waiting for his new home.”

Autumn reached out her hand, which Alice shook. “Thank you so much, I hope everything goes smoothly for you!”

Alice smiled. “You’re the one I should be wishing that on- they shouldn’t be much trouble. I’ll see you around. Call the clinic if things get rough. Any vet visits are on us.”

“Thank you!”

Alice left. Autumn sighed at the door after waving her off, trying to prepare herself for this. She walked back over to the carrier and opened the front door, half expecting them to bolt out. There was no movement.

“Hey little guys, you can come out if you’d like- door’s open.”

Nothing.

“I promise I’m not going to hurt you or anything like that- you’re safe here. Have you been told what’s happening yet?”

For a moment there was silence, until a little white skull poked itself out of the door and looked at you.

“No…”

Autumn gave the naga the gentlest smile she could. It was Blue, but Red wasn’t far behind.

“Hi, sweetie. You’re awfully cute- do you want to stay in the carrier for now?”

He nodded. You could just spot Red behind him, holding on to one of his arms.

“Okay- that’s fine. Do you have any questions about what’s going on? I know this all must be really scary.”

“Wh… where’s Gus?” Blue asked, hesitantly looking around the room.

“He’s far away, going on trial for bitty abuse. He’ll probably go to jail.”

“Where are we?” Blue asked, looking at you with scared, curious eyes.

“You’re in my house- I’m Autumn. I’m part of this bitty rehabilitation program that takes mistreated bitties and finds them better homes… after Gus was arrested and they found all of you bitties in his house, they needed to send them all somewhere they could start healing. You and Red got sent here.”

“The… the others are okay?” His voice was so high and hesitant, like he was scared to speak.

“They’re all fine, don’t worry- I was told somebody would get in contact with me about their other new owners and visiting sometimes. You’ll see them again.”

Blue seemed to relax at that. He slithered forward just a little bit, and you finally saw the elephant in the room- no, not your wooden cutout on the wall, but Blue’s belly.

He noticed you staring. He immediately fled back to the carrier, hunching over so you couldn’t see.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Autumn tried to amend, leaning forward a little on the couch. “I didn’t mean to stare, I’ve just never seen a pregnant bitty before. That was rude of me, I apologize.”

“Are…” Blue began from the shadows, only to peter off.

“What was that, honey?”

“Are you gonna… take them?”

“Them?”

“Our… eggs.”

Autumn blinked. “Oh darling, no! I mean, not unless you want me to- it’s up to you. I know that… your last owner didn’t give you much of a choice about being pregnant, did he?”

Blue shook his head, tears welling in his sockets. Red finally slithered up, just enough to hold his hand and lean into him. The smaller naga eyed you cautiously. 

“Well… there will be none of that here. No more  _ anything _ against your will. The vet said that you’re too far along for the eggs to be aborted safely, but… after you lay them, you can decide what comes next- you can keep them, or have them rehomed, or… or whatever you’d like!”

Blue sniffled. He looked up at the woman as he wiped at his tears.

“What about Red?”

“Hm? What about him? Is something wrong?”

“He’s… you’re not going to make him… do bad things…?”

“Of course not,” she said gently, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You and Red are both here to get better. All the bad things that man did will never,  _ ever _ happen here. Have either of you had a regular home before?”

Blue shook his head. Red did the same.

“Well… let me tell you about it a little bit. You can go wherever you’d like to, and as long as you aren’t hurting yourself or anybody else, you can do whatever you want- I’ve got a bed set up for you in the corner, and you can sleep there any time. If you’re hungry you just have to ask me for something to eat, I’ll even have snacks where you can reach them in case you get peckish. I’m here to take care of you and be your friend- like any proper bitty owner should be. No more being forced to do this, or not getting a choice in that.”

Blue’s eyelights lit up, just a little bit, like Autumn put some kind of hope into them. Like he believed.

Red laughed. A quavering, sad little laugh.

“Yer lyin,” Red responded, voice shaking.

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Autumn said.

“Yer lyin! Y-You have to be!”

“Red-” Blue began, but Red curled up into himself and was crying before Autumn knew what to do.

“Yer- yer gonna be just like- like him,” Red cried. “Yer gonna- yer gonna make me fuck ‘im a-and- and keep doin it- yer gonna muzzle us- ‘n it’s gonna be  _ worse _ -”

“Red, shh!” Blue said, wrapping him up in his arms as the smaller naga broke down. Blue looked up at you with scared eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, miss, please… he’s just… he’s scared, please don’t punish him...”

Autumn shook her head, a deep ache in her chest. “No punishment- I promise. He’s allowed to be scared- you both are. How about I put you over by the bed and you can relax for a while, does that sound alright?”

Blue nodded.

Autumn carried them over in their carrier and sat them by the box with a bed in it. 

“There’s some water and crackers in there, bed’s really comfortable, just shout if you need me.”

Blue nodded. Red was still an inconsolable mess.

Autumn retreated to her bedroom. This was going to be a long process.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more of these sad little dudes
> 
> i'm gonna try to be more active on my [ UT tumblr](https://spectascopes.tumblr.com/) where i'll post doodles i do and maybe some other fanfic related things

Autumn left the nagas alone for the rest of the day. She checked in a couple of times and found them curled up in the bed, which had been pushed to the far corner of the box, as far from the opening as possible.   
When it was time for dinner, she prepared a bit of steak for them, something to make them feel welcomed. Her mind was preoccupied with awful thoughts. Red had said he’d thought that Autumn would… force them to have sex. The woman shivered as the steak sizzled on the stove. Blue had thought she’d punish Red for being upset! She didn’t know where to begin with this sort of trauma, but she supposed she had to start somewhere.

“Hey… you guys hungry?” she asked gently, kneeling down by the box, cubed steak plated in hand. 

A pair of red eyes met hers. He sniffled and looked away as Blue’s opened and he took in the human.

“Wh… what?” Blue asked.

“I made you some food- you hungry?”

“Uhm… we already ate today…”

“Aw, hun…” Autumn breathed, setting the plate down on the floor. “You need to eat more than once a day- if you’re hungry, you should eat.”

“You’re sure?” Blue asked, slithering out of the bed and nearer to her.

“Absolutely! You especially, Blue- you need to eat for your eggs, too.”

The naga blushed, but came forward. Red followed hesitantly, staying in the shadow of the box’s lid until he had to come out in order to continue holding Blue’s hand.

Autumn sat back on her knees and nudged the plate forward. “Do you like steak?”

“We’ve never had it… is it good?” Blue asked as he reached the porcelain. His tongue flicked out to taste the air. 

“It’s very good,” the human reassured, reaching forward and popping a piece of meat into her mouth. She chewed slowly and swallowed.

“See! Yummy. I cooked it really tender, so you shouldn’t have any problems with it, Red.”

The shy naga had his eyes cast down, but looked up at Autumn as she spoke his name. He looked away again after less than a second, single hand tightening its grip on Blue’s. 

“You two go ahead and eat, I’ll leave you to it-”

“W-Wait,” Blue pleaded. Autumn stopped from getting to her feet and went back down to her knees. 

“What’s up, Blue? Is something wrong?”

“No, uhm, no… I… you’re not mad?”

“Mad? Why would I be mad?”

“Red yelled at you…”

“Oh, darling, that’s okay- I understand.” Autumn gave them a sad smile. Red finally raised his head and looked at the human as she spoke: “You’re in a new place, and you’re scared, and… well, you’ve been through a lot. More than I can understand. I don’t blame Red for yelling- everything’s fine!”

Red stared up at the human for just a second longer before taking his hand from Blue’s and rubbing his broken arm with his good one, eyes averted. Blue let out a deep breath and nodded.

“Thank you, miss… we-we won’t let it happen again… we’ll be good.”

“Yelling doesn’t make you bad... don’t worry about being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ or… or anything like that,” Autumn said. “You’re here to work through things and start healing, and I’m here to help you however I can! So if you ever need anything you just shout and I’ll be there.”

“Oh… okay,” Blue said. He looked a little confused, but he didn’t say anything more. Autumn gave them both of them a smile and got up.

“I’m probably gonna be in my room for the rest of the night- if you need anything just come knocking! There’s water and food and if you get bored there’s some paper and pencils for drawing. You gonna be alright?”

“Yeah… yeah, thank you,” Blue replied.

Autumn fell asleep around midnight after doing some research into trauma and how to help people cope with it. She didn’t expect to be woken throughout the night. 

A scream rang out through the small house. Autumn jolted awake, not really sure what had woken her, until aother blood-curdling scream from the living room woke her fully. She hurriedly tugged on some pants and ran into the main living area, heart racing, afraid of the worst. Had somebody broken in? Was one of them dying? Was Blue laying his eggs?

“Red? Blue? What’s going on?”

“He’s- he’s just having a nightmare, he’s- he’ll be quiet-” Blue shouted from the box, only to be interrupted by another pitiful scream.

Autumn all but flung herself onto her knees, looking inside to find the box slightly illuminated by Red’s eyelights. She let out a breath to see they were both alive, only to bite her lip. 

“Red, c’mon- wake up, it’s okay-” Blue was trying to coax. He sounded like he was crying himself. “Red, she’s here, you woke her up- you gotta stop…”

Red writhed around in the bed. Autumn gulped.

It took a few moments of Blue’s gentle cooing to get Red to snap out of it. He panted as his eye dimmed down and he stopped squirming. 

“Shh- shhh, Red, be quiet…” Blue said, holding him close as the littler naga began crying. “You’re fine, shh… you gotta be quiet…”

“‘M sorry, ‘m sorry- d...didn’t mean to…”

Both nagas looked out at the human.

Autumn was at a loss.

“Is he okay?” she asked gently. Blue didn’t seem to register her quiet voice.

“H...he didn’t mean to wake you up…” Blue whimpered. “Don’t hurt him… he’s… we’re…”

Just like that they were both bawling. Holding each other tight. Like they’d float away if they didn’t- like it was the only thing keeping them there.

“We’re sorry- we’re sorry-” Blue whined. “Don’t take him- please-”

“Hey, hey guys, shh,” Autumn said softly. “Nobody’s in trouble- nobody’s getting… taken away, or  _ hurt _ or… or anything like that. Red, are you okay?”

Autumn couldn’t really see them well in the box, now that Red’s magic wasn’t flaring. She frowned.

“Can you two come out here? Just for a minute?”

“Nooo,” Red cried. “No no, please- he didn’t d-do nothin’ you can’t hurt ‘im-”

“I’m not going to hurt either of you- I just want to be able to see you!” Autumn tried to console. “I want to make sure you’re both okay…”

There was no response to that, just sniffles and sharp inhales of breath as they both calmed down a little bit. There was a hushed whisper between them before Blue emerged from the box, alone.

“I’m… I’m ready…”

Autumn blinked. “Huh?”

“You… you have to punish one of us…” Blue said, wiping at his tears as he gave her a downright pitiful look. “We woke you up…”

“Sweetie… that’s not at all how this works…” Autumn said gently. “I’m just worried, nobody is getting punished.”

Blue stared up at the human with something akin to angry confusion on his face. He clenched his fists by his sides and began crying anew. 

“Why are you lying… just… just do it,” Blue whined. 

Autumn was at a loss. She reached forward. Blue hardly even flinched, just closed his eyes and waited for the blow.

She cupped his upper body in her hand and gently stroked his skull with her thumb. Blue waited, not breathing, for a few seconds more before he finally cracked his sockets open and looked up at the human.

“Nobody is getting hurt, or punished. Not here. Not from me.”

Blue’s sockets welled with tears. He pushed the human’s hand away and turned tail, slithering back into the box with a strangled sob.

Autumn sat for a moment longer before she stood and went back to her room.

She couldn’t sleep. She tried, but quickly gave up. She could hear them crying and talking quietly in the living room, though she didn’t listen to what they were saying.

She could do this… she could do this! Autumn took a deep breath, sitting at the end of her bed, staring at the wall. They were scared, and confused… but she could do this. 

She gave them a couple hours, enough time for the crying to quiet and then some. To let them calm down, maybe. But she had to go out again- she did so when the sun came up.

“Red, Blue?”

No verbal response, but she could hear them in the box. Autumn padded over and sat criss-cross applesauce by their little shelter. She steadied herself.

“Are you two doing okay in there?”

Blue slithered out alone again. He had a curious look on his face- it was evident he’d been crying, and the fear still shone in his sockets, but he didn’t seem quite so terrified.

“Hey, sweetie,” Autumn greeted with a small smile. “Sun’s coming up- do you two want some breakfast?”

“I… we want to… talk to you,” Blue rasped. “ _ I _ want to talk to you…”

“Okay- what do you want to talk about?”

“Why’re you doing this?”

Autumn frowned. “I assume you mean taking care of you…?”

Blue nodded. His posture was defensive, tail rattling slightly.

“I want you guys to get better. I signed up for the rehab program. I want to make some kind of a difference.”

“If… if we aren’t making eggs, what use are we?” Blue questioned. His eyes cast downward. “I don’t understand.”

“Oh goodness… honey, you’re so much more than just… an egg-laying machine. You’re your own little person- well, bitty- and you deserve to be happy. You don’t need to be useful or have a purpose.”

Blue thought about that for a while. He looked down at his belly for a bit before looking up at the human.

“Can you… touch me again? Just on the skull?”

Autumn blinked. She had been avoiding that, as she didn’t know what abuse they’d gone through and what triggered them… the little things were so darn cute, of course the thought of petting them had crossed her mind.

“You’re sure that would be okay?”

“Just… just this once,” Blue replied. 

She nodded. She slowly reached forward and, following a small, preemptive flinch from Blue, touched his skull with her index finger and rubbed it a little bit.

Blue stared at her, right into her eyes, the whole time. It was a little unnerving. After about ten seconds he pulled away. 

“You… you’re not…” Blue huffed and averted his eyes again.

“Is something wrong?”

“No… no, that’s… that’s why it doesn’t make any sense.” Blue held his belly and looked at Autumn. “You’re not mad… you don’t want us to… to make more eggs… you’re really  _ worried _ …”

The human nodded. “Of course I’m worried. Red seemed like he was having a really bad time last night, and then you got upset… and there wasn’t anything I could do to help. I  _ want _ to help.”

“Yeah… I felt that, too…” Blue mumbled. He scrunched up his face as he stared at the floor. His tongue flicked out a few times as he thought. Eventually, he raised his head again.

“Promise you won’t hurt Red…”

“Promise- with all my heart,” Autumn said, putting her hand over the organ. 

“And… and promise you won’t get mad…”

Autumn nodded, tapping her chest.

Blue exhaled. Like he’d been holding it in all this time.

“Red gets… really bad dreams,” Blue began hesitantly. “And… and he’ll probably get them again, and it might… wake you up.”

“That’s fine, hun- I won’t be angry if he wakes me up.”

Blue rubbed his arm. Autumn looked over at the cardboard box and saw Red’s head in the shadows, watching. He was such a small naga.

“I don’t want to pry, but… I assume your last owner  _ did _ get upset when you woke him…”

Blue whimpered and his tears fell. He nodded.

“Y-Yeah… uhm, he…” Blue trailed off. Red finally came forward and took Blue’s hand as he leaned his head on Blue’s shoulder. He looked even more of a mess than his friend, but he put on a brave face. 

“You don’t have to talk about it, Blue,” she said. “Unless you want to, of course.”

“I just… I don’t want him to get hurt anymore,” Blue admitted through his tears. Red looked away with a flush of red magic on his cheekbones, but Blue continued: “it’s not his fault he gets nightmares… he’s… he’s only eight…”

Autumn blinked. It took her a moment to really digest what Blue had said.

Bitties matured much faster than humans, but eight… was not completely mature, not at all… she’d read that nagas were considered ‘adults’ by the age of ten or so… that made Red something like a teenager. 

Gus had been breeding him anyways. Autumn gulped and took a moment to compose herself as the nagas stared at the floor.

“Neither of you are going to get hurt here, I can promise that,” she said. “I know it might be hard to believe, and I don’t blame you for not trusting me… but no more bad things. No more punishments, or  _ muzzles _ or… or making eggs, nothing like that.”

“What if… what if he comes back…” Red finally squeaked. He sniffled. “What if Gus…”

“You two won’t ever have to see that man again,” Autumn said, maybe letting a bit of anger slip into her voice. “That disgusting excuse of a human won’t come anywhere near you- if he tries, I’ll… I’ll… I don’t know, but it won’t be pretty.”

The nagas were quiet for a while. Autumn tried to let her anger die down some, breathing deeply. Eventually she composed herself and sighed.

“The point is, neither of you are going to be abused again. And if you ever have questions about what’s going on, you’re free to ask them. That’s what I’m here for.”

Red and Blue looked at each other, squeezing one another’s hands tight. Neither seemed willing to speak further.

“How about I go make you two something to eat- does that sound like a plan?”

They nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS: mentions of rape/non-con and forced sex, please be careful!
> 
> hey y'all, i made a little fanfic update post on my tumblr regarding whats getting updated and how and such, so please check it out [HERE](https://spectascopes.tumblr.com/post/190538520939/fanfic-upd8-sponsorships) if you're interested
> 
> this is a sponsored chapter, so thanks very much for that! i'll probably skim over the actual meeting of sans and papyrus as that was already detailed in the "parent fic" if you will, but...

Autumn got a call shortly after her and her new bitties little chat. She didn’t recognize the number, but picked up anyways.

It was the case worker for the trial. She wanted Red and Blue to come into the station and give their testimony so it could be recorded. Autumn agreed, knowing that this had to be done, but said that if either of them got too worked up they’d have to reschedule. Janette, the woman on the phone, said that was fine, and so the three would be coming in that afternoon.

Autumn let out a breath. She left the nagas to eat their food and digest both the nutrients and her words for about an hour before she went back into the room, day still young, and sat beside their box.

“Hey little guys- how are we doing in there?”

They came out, both of them, and looked up at her.

“We’re, uh… still kind of full,” Blue said, blushing.

Autumn smiled. “Ah, well, I don’t have any food with me this time, so that’s a win-win situation. I wanted to talk to you two about a call I just got.”

“Oh…?”

“Yeah, a nice lady named Janette wants the three of us to go to the police station so you two can give your recountings of your abuse.”

The bitties looked at each other for a moment, Red looking more unsure than Blue.

“It’s just a recording they’re going to do,” Autumn went on, “so you’ll just have to talk for a little while with her, nobody else will be there, and since bitties can’t appear in court for legal reasons, you won’t have to go to the trial and see Gus.”

They were quiet for a moment. Red took Blue’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze. The way they held one another was always so cute, even if the situation wasn’t.

“We can do that,” Blue agreed. Red nodded.

Autumn smiled. “Wonderful. It won’t be till later in the day, so we still have a while. I have to get some work done, is there anything you guys would like to do? Maybe come back into my office with me?”

“Your… office?” Red asked. The human smiled a little wider, Red usually let Blue do all of the talking; he was already making steps in the right direction.

“Yup! I work from home, from my computer, and to keep things organized I have a little office area set up for myself. It’s back down the hallway, with my bedroom- you’re more than welcome to stay here in the living room, but if you want to keep me company, I would sure appreciate it if you came back with me.”

Another glance between them and Blue was nodding for both of them.

Autumn nodded with him. “Cool, how about you two go into your box and I’ll just carry the whole thing in? Might be easier that way.”

They slithered into it at once, and Autumn stood to collect it. It wasn’t a large cardboard box- and given that the contents were, for the most part, a large cat bed and a couple of bittybones, she could manage it.

The office was the littlest room in the house, smaller than her bedroom. It had a few shelves, her desk, and her work laptop, as well as some decorations. The room was painted a pretty pink color, and the furniture was all wooden. It had a nice aesthetic, which was good, because it made working for hours on end that much more bearable. Autumn couldn’t complain, though- getting to work from home as somebody who writes computer code was kind of a cushy job.

She sat the box down in the corner, opening facing her desk. “There we are,” she said, stepping back and sitting on the carpet for a moment. “Come on out!”

They did. They looked around, and Blue’s eyes immediately honed into a large picture had framed on the wall.

“Who’s that?”

Autumn glanced back behind her desk to see which picture he was looking at. She had a few on different walls, but he was clearly looking at the one behind her desk.

“Oh, that’s a picture of me and my old cat, Thunder. Wasn’t he cute?”

Blue nodded. Red was glancing around the rest of the room.

“You don’t have any cats now… right?” Blue asked nervously.

Autumn shook her head. “Nope, Thunder passed away a couple of months ago, and I don’t plan on getting anymore cats for a long time. Cleaning litter boxes is rotten work.”

“Who are those people?” Blue asked, looking at one of the other three pictures. “I-I mean… one is you, but…”

“That’s me and my dads!” Autumn said happily, getting up to name them and point. “I was pretty young when this picture was taken- probably only eighteen, I’d say. I was adopted, see, that’s why I’m so much darker in complexion than they are.”

“Adopted?” Blue asked.

“Yup! It means they aren’t my biological parents, but chose to take me in and raise me anyhow. Super cool, right?”

“Mm,” Blue agreed. “So did… did you adopt us?”

Autumn paused for a moment. She looked back at the nagas before she went over to them and sat down again.

“Well… not necessarily. I’m your rehabilitator, which means it’s my job to make sure you guys get better before we find you a home… but… that isn’t to say this won’t end up being your forever home. It depends on what you guys want to do.”

“What…  _ we _ want to do?” Red piped up.

“Of course! It’s pretty common for a newby rehabilitator like myself to end up keeping their charges, so I’ve been told by the organization. So, if you guys want to stay here with me, forever, then I don’t see a problem with that. I’d be happy to have you, assuming I’m capable of giving you the care you both need.”

They both looked a little overwhelmed by the sentiment, so the human raised her hands.

“That all being said, there is absolutely no pressure to decide that right away. You have plenty of time! If you want to leave and find a different home, that’s fine! If you decide you want to stay here with me, that’s also fine! Talk about it, take your time making that decision, you have loads of time to make up your minds.”

The nagas nodded. Autumn stood once more and stretched a little.

“Alright! I’m going to get to work, you two are free to go wherever you’d like, just avoid my feet so I don’t accidentally step on you, of course. And if you get bored, let me know! We can surely find something for you guys to do!”

They both nodded and went back to inspecting the room.

The day passed by without much excitement. As they were, the nagas weren’t huge on conversation, electing to stay in the box and murmur quietly between themselves instead. Autumn didn’t mind, of course, just worked diligently to get everything done for the day as far as her work went.

Their ‘appointment’ time rolled around soon enough. She stretched and got up from her chair to crack her back, watching her feet to make sure no noodly snakes had wandered over. 

“Alright, little ones, we should get going soon… you guys ready?”

She knelt down to peek into the box. Blue was snoozing while Red idly picked at his dingy old shirt. They’d definitely need new clothes, maybe tomorrow! Autumn smiled in at the naga.

“Hey, hun, did you hear me?”

Red started and looked at her with wide sockets. “Oh… u-uh…”

“It’s fine! We have to get going soon- can you wake Blue up, please?”

“Yeah…”

Autumn left to go get ready- brush her hair and teeth for the second time that day, get on some proper ‘outing’ pants that didn’t have little kitties on them, the works. When she came back to the office, Red and Blue were both outside of the box waiting for her. Blue yawned and wiped at his sockets.

“Somebody’s a little sleepy,” Autumn remarked as she came over.

Blue nodded. “Sorry…”

“Nothing to be sorry about! You need your sleep, hun, gotta stay nice and strong for those eggs.”

Blue blushed but nodded again.

“Okay, I’ll go grab the carrier, since it’s safer in the car than a cardboard box… we can shove the bed in there, though, it should fit pretty snug.”

And Autumn did. Eventually they were all set, two nagas in a cat carrier buckled into her car. She pulled out of the driveway and hummed to herself as she drove her and her new little friends to the police station.

They arrived without incident and were ushered into the recording room by Janette, who was very pleasant about the whole thing. The little recording device was set up on the table. Autumn sat behind the nagas as the woman spoke some legal jargon into the machine.

“Alright, that’s all done. Do you think you two can come out for me, please?”

The carrier’s door was opened and two hesitant little nagas slid out. Blue looked apprehensive and Red looked downright fearful.

“Could you state your names for me, please?”

“I’m Blue,” the naga said quietly.

“I’m Red…”

“Thank you very much. If you could answer all questions verbally instead of with nods or shakes of the head, that would be wonderful,” Janette said. “Now… how would the two of you describe your stay with Augustus?”

“You mean… Gus?” Blue asked.

“Yes, Gus.”

The two looked at each other before Blue took a deep breath.

“It was… very bad. Uhm… awful…”

“What sort of things made it awful?”

“He hurt us a lot,” Blue said quietly, holding Red’s one hand and frowning. “He would flick us, and muzzle us, and… and slap us. He… he cut Red’s arm off… and...his fangs…” The naga in question was looking down, clearly very upset by this discussion.

“That’s all very terrible, and I’m so sorry that happened to the two of you. Is there anything else he did?”

Blue whined a little. He looked back at Autumn with sad sockets before he took another breath and nodded.

“He uhm… he made us… do it.”

“Do it?”

“Have s… sex,” Blue squeaked, flushing deeply, tears pricking his sockets. “He said if we didn’t he’d… he’d dust us…”

Autumn made a sad noise in her throat. 

“You were a part of his ‘breeding program’ then?” Janette asked, her voice firm yet melancholy.

“Yeah…”

“How many times have you been pregnant, Blue?”

“Five…”

“And Red is the father?”

“Yeah, but…” Blue slithered closer to his companion. “He… he’s not in trouble?”

“Of course not- nobody is in trouble.” Janette’s words were kind, but Blue still looked defensive. Red was staring at the tabletop, shoulders shaking.

“Red, how would you describe your stay with Gus?”

“What if he hears this and- and finds us…” Red asked. He looked up at the woman asking questions. “What if-”

“Augustus is currently in jail, and your location is protected- there’s no way he’d be able to find you, even if he manages to not land himself in prison after his trial.”

Red looked at Janette before he nodded slowly. He pressed close to Blue before he spoke:

“He… he didn’t like that I f-fought back… and he… took my fangs so that I couldn’t… bite him.”

“And your arm?”

Red shook his head. Autumn couldn’t quite make it out from her position behind them, but it was clear he was either actively crying or on the verge.

“S...Sometimes when he… would make us f- I mean… have sex…” Red began, “I’d say no… and… he’d just…” Red mimed something with his hand. He sniffled a little bit.

“He would manually force the two of you to engage in intercourse?”

Blue and Red nodded. They were both shaking something fierce.

“We didn’t want to,” Blue said tearfully. “We… we never wanted to…”

“I understand. That’s enough of that topic- were there any other bitties in Gus’s care that you two were aware of?”

The nagas took a moment to compose themselves. Blue was the first to nod.

“Y-Yeah, he kept us in… in separate rooms. We could hear the others but… but the only other one with us was… was Papyrus. He left before we got taken to Autumn… is he… is he okay?”

“He’s living with his new owner and his brother now,” Janette reported happily. “The person who adopted him was the one who called in the case of abuse that lead to the investigation, actually.” The woman nodded to the bitties before speaking some more legal jargon into the device before turning it off.

“You two okay?” Autumn asked, leaning forward to see the nagas better. They were pressed together and shaking a bit, but they nodded their heads.

“You did great,” Janette said. “This will be really helpful in making sure Gus gets what he deserves.”

“Can-” Blue said suddenly, only to cut himself off and rub his arm.

“What’s up, hun?” Autumn asked.

“Can we… see Papyrus? Is he still in the city?”

“He is- I will ask his owner later if they’d like to get together with you, and have them get in touch if yes. Does that sound like a plan?” Janette asked.

Blue and Red didn’t seem upset by the sentiment, so Autumn assumed it was a ‘yes.’ 

“Then if you don’t have any other questions, I’ll walk you out.”

And she did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: mentions of rape/noncon and mentions of sexual abuse, psychotic episode
> 
> this fic won't be super long btw, but thanks to all who've read it!

Autumn went out the following day and got the boys some more clothes. A red sweater for Red, and a cool galaxy-themed hoodie for Blue, big enough to fit his big ‘ol belly. Said nagas were recovering from their trip to the police station, mostly sleeping and hanging out peacefully in their cardboard box, which had been taken back to the living room.

“Red? Blue? I’m home!” the human announced, wiping her feet by the front door and hugging herself to warm up a little. It really was getting cold out- hence the warmer clothes she’d bought her snakes!

She took off her coat and shoes and made her way to the living room. They were sleeping soundly in their bed, she saw as she peeked inside the box. She smiled but gave it a gentle tap.

“Sleepyheads, it’s time to get up,” she announced gently.

They jerked awake, Red grabbing onto Blue tight, before their scared eyelights found the human and they relaxed a little bit.

“You two okay?”

“We’re good…” Blue reported as he wiped the sleep from his sockets.

“That’s great. You two wanna come out here? I bought you some things from the store!”

The nagas came out hesitantly, but they were getting braver day by day. Autumn put the little bag down and sat nearby, digging through it to produce the little clothes she’d bought.

“Ta-da! Clothes!”

Blue blinked up at her while Red only glanced, quick to avert his gaze back to the ground.

“For us?” Blue asked.

“Yup! For you! I got you a hoodie and Red a sweater- how about a quick bath and you can try them on?”

“A bath?”

“I figure it’s about time, wouldn’t want you guys to get smelly.”

The nagas looked at one another, a little shy, before Blue nodded for the two of them.

Bathtime went well. Red and Blue didn’t seem to have any issues with being completely nude around Autumn- she had the suspicion that they were kept that way in Gus’s care, but didn’t ask. She only got their little tub ready and let them soak in the soapy water for a while, letting them scrub themselves with a cut up wash cloth. 

When the time came for them to get out of the tub, however, a problem arose.

She’d never actually touched Red before…

Autumn watched as the nagas rinsed themselves off. Thoughts went through her head- of tipping the tub over, straining them out like the noodles they were, all sorts of things. She pursed her lips.

Blue noticed. He looked at the human and cocked his head.

“Sorry, just thinking… would you two be okay if I helped you out of the tub?”

The nagas seemed a little worried by the notion. Red kind of looked away and shivered.

“We can do something else if you want, I don’t want to push you-”

“I-I’ll… I’ll be okay,” Red managed. Blue looked down at his friend, a little surprised, before he nodded up at Autumn as well.

It was odd, picking up a wet naga and placing him on a towel to dry, but not bad. Red was tense, hugging himself a little as Autumn lifted him gently from the water. He was so small, weighing so little… it hurt Autumn’s heart. She deposited him on the fabric on the bathroom counter and then went in for Blue, who she’d already touched, but his heavy stomach made her frown. Both nagas said nothing.

“Alright, sweeties, go ahead and dry off and then we can get you back in the box and back to the living room for a little fashion show!”

They did as they were told.

Eventually all three were back in the living room, the nagas wrapped in tiny pieces of a beach towel Autumn had cut up. She got out their new clothes and held them up.

“Do you like them? The red one is for Red and the space one is for Blue!”

Red and Blue looked at the clothes in hesitant wonder.

“Here, try them on! We can cut the sleeve off of the sweater, dear, if that would make things easier- that’s totally up to you.”

Red shook his head, struggling to get the thing on it. Blue helped him before slipping his own on and over his tummy, stretching the fabric as he looked down at himself.

“It’s… soft. And warm.” Blue marveled.

“Yup!”

“Gus never let us wear clothes,” Blue explained sadly. Autumn shook her head.

“Well, there will be none of that here- I’ll wash the clothes the agency gave you when you were rescued, and if you ever want more, let me know! Sometime in the future, whenever you two are comfortable, we could even go out together and you could pick things out for yourself- that would be fun!”

“Thank you, miss,” Blue said earnestly. Red was rubbing the nub of his lost arm through his sweater, but he also mumbled something up at the human.

“I wanted to get you two something nice, after how stressful yesterday was,” Autumn elaborated. “You did really well.”

Red shrunk into himself at the mention. Blue slithered closer to him.

“Oh, I’m sorry- we don’t have to talk about it, but I’m proud of you. I’ll leave it at that!”

The nagas seemed to appreciate that, letting out breaths at the same time and relaxing slightly. Autumn smiled- they really were making leaps and bounds on their improvement. 

Within the next couple of days, Autumn contacted Papyrus’s new owner, and the naga’s visit went by without a problem, a little sad, sure, but his owner seemed very nice and a good fit for the little guy. She was so happy to hear that he’d been reunited with his brother and that both were doing better.

Red and Blue didn’t seem phased by it. They were certainly more outspoken and happy to interact with other nagas instead of Autumn, but that didn’t surprise the human. It made her a little sad, sure, but she understood and didn’t criticize the two of them. It was nice to see them so happy to see somebody.

Afterwards, the three settled in for a movie. Autumn picked out something fun and easy- nothing like a good My Little Pony experience- for them to watch. Red and Blue watched it from her side, asking questions now and again, but mostly remaining silent. Autumn noticed that they weren’t touching one another- in fact, they were a little far apart.

When the show was over and the nagas looked a little sleepy, she used the cardboard box to help them back down to the floor and said goodnight to them.

“Just remember you’re always welcome to come and get me if you need me- I’ll never be upset with you for waking me up.”

She hoped her words got through to them, but she also knew that it would take time before they ever went to her for their problems. That was okay. 

Again, a scream. Again, the human raced from her room to the living room, where she found much the same scenario happening as before… except Blue was outside of the box.

“Blue? Is Red okay?”

Blue was staring at the floor. He looked up at Autumn for a moment before he hiccuped, tears falling heavy, and looked away again.

Red was still screaming, writhing in his bed.

“Don’t touch me! Don’t fuckin’ touch me!” he cried in his sleep. Autumn looked helplessly at Blue, who only hugged himself tighter and looked away. 

“Don’t make me!” Red screamed. “Blue please stop please-”

Autumn looked down at the naga, eyes wide. Blue was sobbing as Red’s episode- maybe psychotic?- went on.

“I don’t wanna please, I don’t wanna, just let ‘im kill me please-”

Autumn swallowed hard, putting two and two together. She looked down at the pregnant naga, crying so hard, and she felt horrible.

“Blue, can you help him?” Autumn asked softly.

“He doesn’t n-need me,” Blue cried. “I’m- I’m bad. I’m  _ horrible _ , I…”

“You’re not... Blue, you did what you thought you had to do to keep you both alive… you’re not horrible.”

The naga shook his head while Red’s episode died down. The red magic faded from the box. There was a moment of silence.

“Blue?! Blue, where- where are you-” Red shouted, still clearly in hysterics. Blue just stayed put outside of the box, crying, shaking, all but wailing.

Red eventually emerged and went to his friend, who he went to touch… only to stop.

Autumn got up and left. Her stomach felt flip-flopped and she knew she shouldn’t be there for this. Not now. In their own time maybe they’d come to her, maybe they’d tell her these things, but she already knew more than she should.

She cried herself, imagining a scenario where Blue- sweet and gentle Blue- felt he had to force himself onto somebody to keep them alive. She had tried not to think about it, obviously she had, but this was a lot to take in.

She’d go back out in a little bit. But, at that moment, she simply sat on her bed and wiped at her tears as they came.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short but stressful chapter, i need to get some stuff established here before i keep going with the main story  
> ps this fic isn't going to be more than a couple chapters longer than this, wasn't ever meant to be like... a Thing

Days went by, after the incident. Red and Blue didn’t touch each other as much. Red still had his nightmares, and Autumn tried her best to help however she could, but they trusted her so very little and there was only so much she could do.

It was about two weeks after they’d arrived, hardly any steps being made in the right direction, when Blue finally went into labor. 

Autumn walked out to make them something to eat for breakfast when she heard Red yelling, frantic. She went to them immediately and found them in their bed, in their box, Blue laying on his side and groaning.

She didn’t have to ask what was going on. The poor dear had looked ready to pop the moment he’d arrived. 

“Okay, okay… I’m going to go get the carrier and call the vet- they wanted us to go in for the eggs being laid.”

Red was beside Blue, watching from a safe distance. The naga at hand nodded before letting out a pained little whimper.

The trip was stressful. The whole cat bed had been shoved into the carrier, Blue and Red inside, the former groaning and crying.

When they arrived, Blue was taken back to one of the rooms with Autumn and Red in tow. He’d obviously done this before, but it was still sad to see him in so much pain. The vet, a small, wiry man with glasses, helped get Blue onto the table, which had been fitted with a comfortable place for him to lay while in labor.

“Things seems to be going smoothly so far,” he said, giving Blue a careful look. The naga didn’t seem to care that much, but Red was anxiously flicking his tail beside him. “The labor shouldn’t last for very long- when he says he’s ready to start laying, please call for me or a tech.”

Autumn nodded. The vet left, and she looked at the nagas. Red seemed scared, but Blue just looked done.

“You doing okay, hun?” the human asked, not daring to touch the bitty.

“Ngh- yeah…” he said, looking up at her.

Red just anxiously circled Blue’s bed.

Half an hour went by before Blue’s groaning grew in intensity and he told Autumn, in a wavering voice, that he was ready.

Autumn didn’t really know what to expect. She watched in stressed amazement as a tech came in, to monitor the laying, and Blue laid his eggs. It didn’t take long- they weren’t enormous, but coming out of the little naga, they really did look it.

He laid two. The vet tech helped him through it, Red watching anxiously the whole time. When it was done, Autumn let out a breath. The assistant took the eggs to be incubated safely- Blue and Red watched them go out of the room with melancholy looks in their eyes.

“It’s okay, she isn’t taking them far- if you want to get them back, I’m sure you can,” Autumn said softly.

Blue nodded. He looked so, so tired. Red went to him and they held hands, the littler naga wiping the magic sweat from Blue’s skull.

“A-Are you okay?” Red asked softly. 

“I’m okay,” Blue said. His sockets were soft. “Red…”

“Yeah?”

“You can decide what to do with the eggs,” he said. “If you don’t want to keep them, that’s okay.”

“W-we can… decide together…” Red said, but Blue shook his head. He looked so small and fragile on the cloth, still panting a little bit.

“I’m sorry,” was all Blue said. He looked up at Autumn with tears in his sockets, searching for something. He must have found it- he turned his attention back to Red.

“I’m sorry. For… for the things I did,” Blue went on.

“No, it’s… you… it’s not your fault,” Red said, squeezing Blue’s hand. “I’d b-be dead if you didn’t… do… what you did.”

Blue looked back up to the human, who watched with a growing sadness in her chest.

“You’re gonna keep him safe, right?”

“I’m going to keep both of you safe,” she replied at once.

Blue dropped his sockets. Autumn didn’t understand what was happening, why the naga was acting so strangely.

“You’re gonna be okay,” he said, holding Red’s hand tightly. “She’s gonna look after you now… you’re gonna be okay.”

“Blue?” Red breathed.

Blue reached up with as much strength as he could muster and clacked his skull against Red’s. He looked so tired.

“Blue?” Red asked as the bitty fell back against the table. He didn’t respond, his breathing shallow. Red shook him by the shoulders, tears falling onto the bitty below him.

The blue of his magic dulled to gray. It happened too fast for Autumn to even think about calling for anybody. Her heart was in her throat.

“Blue?!” Red wailed, curling up around the bitty, shaking him, sobbing. “Blue, no no no, please, don’t do this, don’t Fall- please-”

“Help! We need help!” Autumn called, her voice breaking as she stumbled to her feet and went to find somebody, anybody. 

“Blue! Blue please, don’t- don’t leave me-”

Autumn cast one look back at the still little naga on the table before running to find the vet.


	6. Chapter 6

There was nothing they could do. Blue had Fallen Down and there was nothing anybody could do.

They were sent home, told that the eggs would be incubated, that they had a month to decide what to do with them. Autumn didn’t really care about them- the drive home was filled with Red’s wailing and Autumn’s own quiet tears.

The naga was inconsolable. He held Blue tight, didn’t let anybody touch him, pleaded and begged into his lifeless form. Autumn had tucked the two back into the carrier, into the bed, and driven them home.

Her heart felt broken. Every time she saw the little thing, so still, she felt guilt. She should have been able to prevent this somehow- she should have seen the signs, she should have… done something. She had no idea what. But she should have done it.

Blue was put back into the box they’d called home. The vet said, at this point, there was no reason to keep him at the practice- he would either miraculously wake, or…

Autumn sat on the couch, head in her hands. Everything had happened too fast. She sobbed gently as Red continued to whimper and beg to nobody in particular.

Hours went by. Red eventually quieted. It was only two in the afternoon.

“Red…”

There was no response.

Autumn took a shuddering breath as she sat down beside the box. Blue had been the buffer between her and the little snake. She didn’t quite know what to do without him.

“Red, I’m sorry.”

Again, nothing.

“Do you need anything?” she asked, trying to be helpful.

“This is a-all my fault.”

“Hun… of course it isn’t… the only person to blame is Gus. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Red only sobbed. Autumn let out a breath.

“None of this is your fault, Red. Please don’t think that… I’m here if you need to talk. I’ll make you something to eat in a little bit… do you want to rest for a while?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay. I’ll be in my room, but the door’s open- you look after him, okay? I know he’ll wake up with a guardian like you.”

Red didn’t reply.

He wasn’t eating much. He was barely sleeping. 

A few days went by. Autumn talked to the little naga as much as she could, she tried to get food into him, she consulted the internet on how to help him deal with the loss. Early on, she even had his friend Papyrus come by, but...

Four days after Blue laid his eggs, Red finally allowed Blue to rest alone and came out of the box all the way. Autumn sat beside, offering him half of an oreo. He took it and, thankfully, ate.

“Hey, bud. You wanna watch some cartoons with me?”

Red wiped some stray tears from his sockets. He looked up at Autumn.

“Can you touch me? Like… like you did for Blue?”

Autumn paused, a little taken aback, but nodded. 

“Sure thing, sweetie. On the skull?”

Red nodded. He was wearing the little sweater she’d bought him, playing with the hem with his only arm.

The human did as she was asked, gently reaching forward and touching the side of his skull, rubbing it gently.

That was all it took for Red to start bawling, reaching out and grabbing her hand, snuggling into it as his tears fell.

“Aw…” Autumn breathed. “Is it okay if I pick you up?”

Red nodded into her skin as the tears fell and wetted it.

Autumn did so gently, as gently as she could, and brought the naga against her chest. He was a mess. He was shaking and shuddering, barely getting enough air into his body.

“Shh… I’ve got you… you’re here. You’re safe,” Autumn cooed. She wasn’t really prepared for this, but…

“I do-don’t- I don’t know wh-what to do,” Red cried into her shirt. “Not with-without- him-”

“I know. I know, hun, I’m so sorry.”

Red blubbered something else, but she couldn’t make it out between the sobs. She stroked down his back and skull.

“We still have a few days before the vet said Blue would…” Autumn couldn’t say it. Red sobbed at her words. “He might wake up. We just have to keep hoping.”

“I’m scared,” Red whimpered.

“Me, too…” Autumn said. “I know we don’t know each other very well, Red, but… I’m here for you. For anything you need- I’m here.”

Red snuggled closer.

Another day passed. And then another. 

Blue was starting to fade. His magic was getting weaker, his breathing shallow. Red allowed Autumn to take him out and hold him, and she almost broke down, but she stayed strong.

The last day came. It hadn’t quite been a week, but… Autumn and Red both knew it. Blue was falling fast, barely hanging on. Autumn called in sick to work and stayed with them. She held them in her arms, Red not daring to let go of his companion. 

It was late in the evening when Blue’s magic faded faster. Red sobbed and held him close.

“Please, Blue, please… p-please wake up…” Red begged.

Autumn rubbed the unconscious naga’s skull, tears falling freely.

“Don’t leave me- please,  _ please _ , I… I need you… please don’t leave me…” Red pleaded, clacking their skulls together. “It’s not your fault. It… i-it’s not your  _ fault _ , Blue…”

Blue’s breaths were little more than pants at that point. Red held their skulls together, tears falling onto the naga below him.

“I need you… I need you, please… please don’t go… y-you… you promised you wouldn’t go…”

Nothing happened. Autumn didn’t know what she’d expected. She closed her eyes and bit down on a little sob as Red bawled and pressed himself to Blue, hugging him for all he was worth.

“Please, Blue… I w… I wanna get better with you… I don’t want to do this alone…”

Autumn took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked down at the nagas in her arms.

She noticed it first. The movement. She sucked in a breath as a shaking hand came up and touched the side of Red’s skull.

“...Red?” came the weak, raspy voice.

Red pulled back to look at the bigger naga. At his eyes- open, bagged, so tired and fuzzy, but there. Looking at Red, and then at Autumn.

“Blue! Blue, Blue, Blue-” Red gasped, hugging him, touching him, as though to make sure he was real. “Blue-”

“I-I’m… I’m here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i mean y'all knew he wasn't gonna die tho, i couldn't do that to either of these boys. i also couldn't justify making people wait more than one chapter for a resolution to the dilemma lmao sorry for the weird pacing!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not dead
> 
> this chapter has been sitting around for aaaages and i never bothered to post, but here we are! i'm gonna call this the final chapter, and if i feel like writing more at any point, i'll tack on one or two more. 
> 
> blue and red have a lot of issues and problems they need to work thru, but autumn's gonna be there to help them at every step of the way. they both end up okay, safe and happy! Thanks for reading!

Blue didn’t speak much as you drove him back to the vet- as instructed if he woke. Red wouldn’t let him go, clacking their skulls together and twining his tail around Blue’s torso. The bigger naga didn’t fight it- he looked very, very tired. 

They got him hooked up to an impossibly small IV and got much needed nutrients into his body and soul.

“I’ve only seen this happen a couple of times,” the vet said as he went about making sure all of the nurse’s work was adequate, ignoring the obstacle that was Red. “Usually when a bitty Falls, they don’t wake again.” He turned to Autumn. “You have a very resilient little naga.”

She nodded, standing as close as she could to the two of them. Blue looked like he was trying to rest, head pressed to Red’s chest, who was curled around him, mindful of the IV.

They kept Blue there for a couple of hours. It didn’t take long, apparently, for a bitty to get their strength back when human intervention was involved. Autumn was instructed to make sure Blue was eating and drinking enough and they were being sent home again, one last reminder about the eggs. 

Once Autumn had gotten everybody back and settled in the living room, she let out a breath. She had almost feared that Blue would somehow Fall again, but… he was resting against Red, little sockets staring softly at nothing in particular.

“I’m sorry…” 

Autumn felt her heart soften. She moved from the couch to sit beside the two on the floor. She waited a moment to see if Red would respond. When he didn’t, she tried to steel herself.

“Blue… you don’t have to be sorry… I think we’re both just glad you’re okay.”

Blue squirmed in Red’s grasp, curling up against his friend. Red held him as much as he was able to.

“Did you…” Red paused to swallow, voice quiet. “Did you think about me?”

Blue didn’t respond.

“Did you think a-about… me being alone?”

“I thought you’d be better if I wasn’t around,” Blue confessed.

Red didn’t say anything. Neither of them did for a long while, the human sitting and staring down at the carpet.

“You thought you deserved to dust?” Red asked.

Blue’s silence was enough of an answer. Red squeezed him with his single arm.

“It wasn’t your fault-”

“But it feels like it was,” Blue said. It was definitive and left no room for argument. He let out a breath and wriggled around until Red let him go. The smaller naga looked lost.

“It feels like… like there’s a big dark hole where I used to be,” Blue said. He grabbed at the hoodie over his soul. “I don’t know how to fix it. It  _ hurts _ .”

Red didn’t have an answer. He grabbed at his stump of an arm and then it was his turn to stare at the floor. 

“And I- I knew I had to be there for you, but… but knowing I didn’t have to be…” Blue looked up at Autumn. “That you would be safe if I was gone, it…” he stopped. He didn’t finish his sentence. He laughed. “Not that I could ever protect you before.”

“You shouldn’t have had to,” Autumn finally interjected. The nagas looked up at her in surprise. “And even if I’m here to keep both of you safe, that doesn’t mean Red is ever going to stop needing you… or that you’ll stop needing him.” She let out a deep breath. “But… what you’re feeling is valid, Blue. And these feelings might not go away on their own- but that’s why we’re here… that’s why you can’t give up. You’re not alone anymore- neither of you… I’m here.” Autumn set her brow in resolution, looking down at the little things. “The people at the Rescue are here- the vet- these people want to help you. I want to help you.” Autumn held the naga’s gaze. “So please don’t think things aren’t going to get better.”

Blue looked at her. He searched her eyes for a while before he looked over at Red. 

“I promise they will,” Autumn added. “The hurt won’t last forever- I know it seems unbearable now, but… there’s so much happiness in life.” She held out her hands, one to each of the snakes. “I’ll help you get there however I can.”

There was hesitance. The nagas looked at each other, and then at the outstretched hands before them. 

It was Red that laid his claw against her first. Blue waited only a moment longer before joining him.

Autumn waited for permission before scooping them both up into her arms.

“Thank you for letting me in,” she whispered.


End file.
